U.S. existing home sales return to 2019 levels after May’s 3.4% drop, gold price steady

(Kitco News) (Kitco News) Gold was trading steady U.S. existing home sales fell for the fourth month in a row, dropping 3.4% in May.

Existing home sales declined to a seasonally adjusted and annualized rate of 5.41 million units last month, compared to April’s annualized rate of 5.6 million homes, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Tuesday. Market consensus projections were calling for existing home sales to rise to 5.4 million.

On an annual basis, May’s existing sales were down 8.6%.

After two years of "gangbuster performance," the housing market is back to the 2019 levels seen before the pandemic, said NAR's chief economist Lawrence Yun.

"The market movements of single-family and condominium sales are nearly equal, possibly implying that the preference towards suburban living over city life that had been present over the past two years is fading with a return to pre-pandemic conditions," Yun said.

Also, the NAR's chief economist added that more declines are expected in the upcoming months because of challenges surrounding housing affordability, such as a sharp rise in mortgage rates.

"Further sales declines should be expected … Nonetheless, homes priced appropriately are selling quickly and inventory levels still need to rise substantially – almost doubling – to cool home price appreciation and provide more options for home buyers," Yun said.

The median price for all home types was $407,600 in May, rising 14.8% from a year ago. This marked the 123rd straight month of year-over-year gains – the longest-running streak on record.

The total inventory was at 1.16 million units, up 12.6% from last year's total.

Gold prices held steady and edged up slightly following the data release. August Comex gold futures were last trading at $1,842 up 0.08% on the day.